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Topic Review (Newest First)

01-30-2013 05:58 PM

Virto

Fish-in will take a good, long time before you see fully even numbers. Fishless cycling with large doses of ammonia to feed bacteria work more quickly.

Be prepared to keep up on your water changes for 1-2 months while your fish-in cycle completes. Since you have to keep performing water changes, your levels will be all wonky and your bacteria will grow more slowly.

It takes time, but it will eventually happen. Even a fishless cycle can take forever sometimes. I've had one going for 7 weeks now and it's just to the point that I'll be adding fish this week.

01-30-2013 11:15 AM

CrypticLifeStyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliriyanna

ok STILL ... I read them and Ammonia should spike then go down as the nitrites go up ... My Ammonia AND Nitrites are going up

And i don't know how much you read but I don't even have shrimp I said I would get them after the tank is cycled

Honestly I quit reading midway through page2 lol. I thought you were cycling with shrimp.

01-30-2013 02:58 AM

Elliriyanna

lol yeah its going slower because I have to keep the nitrites and ammonia at live-able levels for him

Btw his name is just Finn lol I have a bad habit of calling them Miss or Mr

01-29-2013 11:37 PM

wendyjo

Ahh oh yeah I forgot about Mr. Finn! Well just keep on doing water changes to keep him as healthy as possible, and the cycle will eventually sort itself out. Remember, you are a fish keeper not a bacteria keeper

01-29-2013 10:55 PM

Elliriyanna

This is the fish in tank so I don't have to add ammonia ... this cycling is crazy lol and I have another to cycle when we move * sigh*

I keep testing and changing water as needed ... I cant wait until my ammonia and nitrites are zero lol

01-29-2013 10:52 PM

wendyjo

Are you still adding ammonia? Cycles do all sorts of crazy thing - the way the levels rise and drop is not exactly the same in any cycle. You just have to keep with it until it's done.

01-29-2013 09:21 PM

Elliriyanna

ok STILL ... I read them and Ammonia should spike then go down as the nitrites go up ... My Ammonia AND Nitrites are going up

And i don't know how much you read but I don't even have shrimp I said I would get them after the tank is cycled

01-29-2013 05:25 PM

CrypticLifeStyle

ADD or not please read this whole page. You have 5 pages of opinions, which I'm sure has confused the crap out of you. It's the best info out there for tank cycling, and you benefit more from the page then 20 peoples opinions, and remove the shrimp if you haven't already.

Right - just get non sudsing ammonia with no fragrence added. The dollar store usually has regular ammonia and lemon scented, so you would want the regular. Just add some to the new tank each day to build up the bacteria that you'll already have started on the filter that you seeded. When you get the frogs you'll do a large water change, add fresh water treated with dechlor or Prime, then add the frogs.

Bettas aren't particularly messy fish either, which is why I assumed one frog would be about the same as one betta. I've never kept frogs tho. Perhaps someone else who's kept both will chime in with some info on that.

01-26-2013 05:05 PM

Elliriyanna

So as long as I am careful choosing ammonia I don't have to worry about potential chemicals harming my frogs

I must say ... Its much easier to be an ignorant, Negligent owner lol ( Not that I would EVER go back)

01-26-2013 04:59 PM

John K

Correct. The ammonia you are adding to the tank is no different than the ammonia that is produced as waste from the fish and frogs.

01-26-2013 04:55 PM

Elliriyanna

I will look and see if I can find ammonia ...

So if I stick the filter in the 1st tank for 4 weeks then put it in the 2nd tank and add ammonia daily and test until it reads like a cycled tank I should be fine and just keep adding Ammonia until I get the frogs? ( I dont like the idea of having added chemicals to my frog tank though )

I will look in our dollar store when I am planning to cycle the 5 gallon.

01-26-2013 04:40 PM

John K

You can buy "Dr. Tim's Aquatic Ammonia" on Amazon for less than $10. Seems like a lot to pay for ammonia, but you'll know there's nothing bad in it and that little bottle will last you for many tanks.

No matter what you do, there's no guarantee that the cycle in the second tank will be adequate. If you have the ammonia, you can transfer the seeded material and then add ammonia in order to see if the cycle is in place and make sure it can handle the load. This way you will not have to subject any fish or frogs to any harmful conditions.

01-26-2013 04:13 PM

Elliriyanna

I am pretty sure ADF bioload is lower than a Betta's Bioload... From everything I have read they aren't messy at all but its not like I can compare exact bioloads.

I would say the two frogs have almost the same Bioload as a betta

If the above is the case would putting the second filter in the first tank not work?

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